Artificial Intelligence (AI) will undoubtedly shape humanity -- and already has. But its role in politics is still in its infancy, and while it has the power to unimaginable things, it also has the power to deceive.

Just ask Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who found himself acknowledging a deepfaked AI-generated attack ad that used his actual words but was an AI deepfake of his person, according to NPR. 

The attack ad depicting the AI-generated version of Schumer was published this week by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The outlet noted that many observers had concerns about the attack, as it could usher in a new era of deepfake, AI-generated attack ads that could have massive implications in coming elections.

What's going on?

The video was regarding the ongoing government shutdown, as Republicans have continued to blame Democrats for not wanting to come to the table and make a real deal to get it reopened.

"Week 3 of the Schumer Shutdown: 'Every day gets better for us'," the National Republican Senatorial Committee wrote as a caption for the video in an X post.

NPR noted:

The video shows an AI-generated version of Schumer repeatedly saying those words and grinning. The video concludes with Schumer smiling as a narrator says, "The Schumer shutdown is making things worse across America and Democrats love it."

The words were actually previously spoken by Schumer in a quote to Punchbowl News.

"Every day gets better for us" Schumer told Punchbowl about the ongoing shutdown.

He continued: "It's because we've thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30 and we prepared for it … Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two."

Social media reacts

Users across social media reacted to the new spin on deepfake videos.

"This is a real quote from schumer (h/t punchbowl) but not a real video. note the tiny AI generated tag in the corner. gonna be pretty wild to see how much AI vids hit the airwaves in 2026," one X user wrote.

this is a real quote from schumer (h/t punchbowl) but not a real video. note the tiny AI generated tag in the corner. gonna be pretty wild to see how much AI vids hit the airwaves in 2026 https://t.co/pihFnRIk4V

— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) October 17, 2025

It'll be fascinating to see the likely profound effect such videos will have on future election cycles.